


We Want A Home

by Zomble



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2020-12-27 15:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21121013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zomble/pseuds/Zomble
Summary: Clementine and AJ have been on the road as long as either can remember. Always moving, never truly finding somewhere to call home. They've tried in the past, but one by one each community has shown it's flaws. Tired and desperate a scavenging mission goes wrong resulting in a car crash and a surprise rescue before Clementine blacks out. Problem is the crash did a bit more damage then she thought, resulting in her staying under for a whole two days.Awake and surrounded by strangers, Clementine has two choices. Thank them briskly and be on her way, or finally settle down and have a home to call their own.





	1. Dazed and Confused

**Author's Note:**

> Look I don't know what I'm doing. I've tried many times to write a story, and I rarely finish them. Let's see if this one goes anywhere. And don't think future chapters will be anywhere near as long as this one. I wanted to split it but I couldn't find a place to do it properly so yeah, we just have this I guess.

“AJ!” Clementine cried out, sitting up from the bed with a start. She was immediately halted by the tape around her hand, pulling her back with a jolt. She looked down with a frown, why had she been taped to a bed?

She tired her best to remember the most recent events that lead to this moment. Her brain however refused to work with her. It thumped and cried out in protest and the memories eluded her for the time being.

This did little to ease her nerves. Panic began to sit in as she eyed the room quickly to see where she was. Nothing looked immediately familiar, but it seemed to be like a bedroom or dorm room. Her heart picked up pace however when she noted she wasn’t alone. There was a silhouette that shared the room sitting at a nearby desk.

Luckily for Clementine the figure appeared to be asleep. The girl had hair that was a mess and covered in dirt. She couldn’t quite tell if her hair was naturally that shade of blonde or if the grime made it appear that way. The rest of her outfit consisted of a jacket over a long-sleeved shirt, and simple yet torn jeans. She also looked and smelled like she hadn’t showered since everything began.

A silent snore emerging from her form indicating that she was at least unaware of Clementine being conscious and had not awoken to her struggles. How she hadn’t been disturbed from Clementine’s cry when she woke was beyond her.

She had decided for now it was best to make her escape. Who knew what these people had planned for her and she desperately needed to find AJ. Pulling herself free with her unbound hand the tape fell away with ease.

She rubbed her wrist but pain shot through it and she immediately pulled back. Moving her wrist too much also seemed to shoot waves of pain through her. That wasn’t the only pain that followed. A throbbing pain soon emerged from her head, crying out in protest for being awake.

Her hand reached up and was surprised to find a bandage that had been wrapped around her head. She winced in pain as her fingers danced along the wounded area, deciding it best not to mess around with it.

Somebody had obviously taken the time to wrap her head up, so they wanted her alive at the very least. She let out a small breath of relief as she got to her feet, her legs wobbling and nearly collapsing beneath her. It felt like she had been asleep for quite a while.

“Easy now Clem.” She whispered to herself, giving her body enough time to settle itself. After her vision stopped swaying and spots danced from her vision she got herself moving. She stole a glance to her left where she found her cap beside a lit candle on the bedside table. Without a moments hesitation she grabbed it and put it where it rightfully belonged.

A look out the window revealed it was dark outside, how long had she been out? There was a brief moment where she went to turn to the door when she remembered the figure in the room. She hesitated a moment before creeping her way to the exit.

Carefully she turned the handle with, slipping outside and shutting the door as carefully as she could. She couldn’t see a damn thing in the hallway though, placing her hand against the left wall and creeping down the hall. Each step elevated her heartrate as she tried her best to avoid any sound. The floor creaked gently beneath her but offered little comfort to her worries.

Eventually she found her way through the darkness to spot a door that appeared to lead outside. Moonlight shone through and there were faint orange glows that could be seen through the glass. By now her eyes had adjusted enough to the dark so she didn’t have to grope around like a fool to find the handle.

As she twisted the handle and stepped slowly outside a voice caught her attention, realising quickly she had been caught. She mentally cursed herself for being so sloppy and prepared for the worst.

“Did she wake up Vi-oh…” A voice started before they noticed whoever they were addressing was not the one at the door.

Clementine froze in place as several sets of eyes were on her in an instant, most of which had a mixture of uncertainty and fear. One of the pairs of eyes however were completely unreadable to Clementine.

They belonged to a boy with the most disgusting hair she’d ever seen. A bow could be seen strapped to his back and he wore some kind of jersey, a school or sports jersey from the looks of it.

“So… you must be-“

“Clementine!” The boy was interrupted mid-sentence by the unmistakeable voice of AJ. Clementine barely had any time to react as he leaped out of his seat and ran to her for a hug. While normally she would envelop him in her arms she was still busy having an awkward staring competition with the group, and she was losing. Instead she opted to wrap a single arm around the boy and kept track of everyone in her vision.

“Hey, come on guys, I know she’s pretty but can we please stop staring. Ya’ll are making it weird.” A woman’s voice called out at last.

A few of the faces turned away, focusing back onto the meals that had been laid out before them. Two of their members however got up from their seats and made their way over to Clementine, one of those being the boy who last spoke up.

“So, you’re awake. You didn’t murder Violet did you?” One of the boys asked in a mostly neutral tone. Clementine looked over the other boy briefly.

He had an interesting choice of hairstyle and a constant grin plastered on his face. Upon his body he wore the thickest coat Clementine had ever seen. He seemed far more cheerful then his companion.

“Hello, earth to Clementine? Where’s Violet.” The more cheerful of the two asked. Clementine shook her head clear and responded to his question.

“Who?” Was all Clementine managed to let out.

“The girl we had posted in your room. She was supposed to be watching you.” The rat haired boy responded, a look of concern making its way onto his face. The first expression he had shown since her emergence.

“Oh her, she uh…” Clementine was however interrupted as the door behind her burst open, forcing the girl to jump back in surprise. Tumbling out of the room was the girl that had been sleeping in her room.

“Guys, the girl’s escaped! We need to… oh…” The girl stood there with a surprised look as well as a shade of red on her cheeks. She slowly closed the door behind her and coughed awkwardly. “It’s cool, call off the search. Found her.” Her voice trailed off towards the end as she kicked at the ground, obviously embarrassed.

“Violet! Good to see she didn’t murder you, how’d she get past?” The cuter of the boys spoke up, coming around to Violet’s side and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Violet immediately scowled and shoved him off. She didn’t exactly seem like the friendliest of people.

“Bite me Louis. I fell asleep ok.” Violet grumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets and inching a step or two further from the boy. Louis, as Clementine learnt, didn’t seem at all offended by her remark and just kept on smiling.

“You hear that Marlon? She fell asleep, again!” Louis almost had to hold back laughter when Violet held a fist in the air to hit him over the head. Clementine tried her best to take in the information she was learning. Meanwhile AJ had shifted to stand himself slightly behind her.

“Louis enough, we have a guest here who’s probably starving, go fetch another bowl.” Rat hair… Marlon ordered. Louis gave a nod and walked off, leaving to do as Marlon had instructed. Marlon turned his attention back to Clementine. “Sorry about that, we weren’t exactly sure when you would be waking up.” He admitted.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Clementine asked, taking a half step back to give herself some much-needed space. She wasn’t used to close company as much these days, not recently at least.

“Clem, you were out for nearly two days.” AJ muttered from his place behind her. Clementine looked down to him in shock, her jaw nearly dropping to the floor hearing what he had to say. Two whole days? That couldn’t be right.

“The little rascal’s right, we feared you weren’t ever waking. After we pulled you from that wreck you were in pretty bad shape, kept mumbling about not being bit as we dragged you back here. Your head was bleeding pretty badly. Hope Ruby patched you up ok.” Marlon explained.

Clementine touched at her bandage again and tried in vain to recall what Marlon had told her. Try as she might she couldn’t remember anything he had just mentioned.

Internally she cried out in frustration from the gap in her memory. The head wound was clearly greater then she had first realised. As she did so however she could feel her world begin to wobble and shift.

“I uh… I think I need to sit down.” Clementine said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Here, you look like you’re about to feint.” Marlon offered his hand, Clementine hesitantly taking it as he guided her to an empty seat. The moment she sat down she felt relief, though she did still feel like she was going to pass out after hearing that news.

“Two days…” Clementine sighed, resting a hand on her forehead before pulling it back suddenly, forgetting the wound that was there.

“You should’ve seen your car, it was totalled. Honestly surprised you survived the crash at all.” Louis piped in, sliding a bowl of soup in front of her. Clementine gave him a nod in thanks as she slowly began to eat. Glancing up she found that Louis had seated himself across from her, Marlon and Violet on either side of him.

“Do I look that bad?” Clementine asked half joking, earning a chuckle from Louis and a smile from Violet.

“When we first found you yes, now, not so much.” Louis replied. Clementine felt a small smile from on her lips as she finished her meal, her stomach growling for more. She didn’t feel it would be the right place to ask for more, she only just woke up surrounded by strangers.

“Hey so, uh… Clementine right? What on earth happened back there when you crashed your car? We heard an explosion then you nearly hit us with your incredible driving.” Marlon asked as he crossed his arms on the table, ready for an explanation.

“Well I think we were looking for food when we found this place. But I think it was trapped because bomb or grenade or… something blew up. Then… uhm… sorry. That’s about all I remember.” Clementine admitted, the events before being quite foggy in her mind. Louis and Marlon looked to each other with a nod as Violet gave her a look of worry.

“You managed to escape an explosion huh?” Violet asked in disbelief. Clementine almost scoffed as she scratched at the table idly.

“Kind of, I’m sure AJ helped. And I didn’t exactly get away unscathed now did I?” She said while pointing to the wound on her head and gesturing to her injured wrist. Violet nodded, sinking back into her seat a bit.

“Add a second scar to your forehead.” Louis observed, reminding Clementine of the first one she acquired.

“Yeah, I seem to have a habit of getting into car crashes.” She added, Kenny flashing up briefly in her mind. It was hard to forget that day, if only she had been a little more careful…

“You’ve been in one before?” Marlon asked with a hint of humour. Clementine simply nodded in response. “Tough one huh?”

“Oh, you have no idea.” AJ replied with a small grin. “She’s the toughest person out there.” Clementine couldn’t help but smile when AJ said that, it warmed her heart to hear how tough he thought she was.

“Really? Next you’ll be telling me she…” Marlon was interrupted by the sound of a bark, a large dog running out from the main building towards him in a hurry. “Hey Rosie!” He cooed, reaching a hand out to pet the dogs head.

The instant the dog came into view Clementine was sent into full panic mode. She got up and out of her seat, taking several hurried steps back and reaching for whatever weapon she could find. Coming up empty handed she opted for putting the table between herself and the dog. Her heart hammered in her ears as she eyed the dog in terror.

Sam crossed her mind and the whole world began to fade out around her, only the dog was in her sight. The dog meanwhile looked at her curiously, tilting its head to the side and whining. Clementine heard muffled voices and brought herself back to reality.

“Clementine? You ok?” Marlon had noticed the fear in Clementine’s eyes. Looking back at Rosie he realised Clementine had not taken her gaze from the dog the moment it had emerged. “Does… does Rosie scare you?” Marlon asked uncertainly. Clementine didn’t even respond, but the fact she took an extra two steps backward gave him the answer he needed.

“It’s a dog, what is there to be scared of?” Violet almost laughed until she caught AJ’s glare. She cleared her throat and found the tables texture very interesting all of a sudden.

“She’s had a bad experience with dogs.” AJ shot back, removing himself from the table and to Clementine’s side. “They’re not going to hurt you Clem. Remember what you told me? Breath.” AJ instructed.

Clementine followed his instructions and started to take a few long slow breaths. While she looked a little less terrified the fear had not left her completely. At least for the moment she was brought back from her panic. Looking around to find everybody staring at her yet again she averted her eyes and mumbled an apology.

“S-Sorry… not a fan of dogs…” She reached for and started to unconsciously rub the scar on her arm. The pain had obviously long since left her arm but every now and then she could almost feel the dog’s teeth in her arm once more, tearing at her flesh and spraying her face with her own warm blood. Even the thought sent shivers down her spine.

“Why, what’s up?” Louis asked only to receive a punch to the arm from Violet. “Ow, I’m just asking.”

“Yeah well maybe she’s not up for your questions right now ok?” Violet hissed back, flexing her fingers to show she wasn’t about to back down if he pursued.

“It’s fine… really I just… look I…” Letting out a long heavy sigh Clementine opted to roll her up sleeve, exposing the long scar that decorated her skin. It had long since begun to fade but it was still obvious.

“Yikes, dog did that?” Marlon questioned as he ushered Rosie to leave them be. This act at least brought Clementine to approach the table once more.

“Yeah, over some beans. I was alone at the time.” Clementine sat herself back down and rolled her sleeve back over her arm, eager to cover her scars once more.

“Sounds rough. But it certainly looks cool.” Louis grinned. A grin which Clementine returned. The trio allowed her to collect herself before they probed her any further. Violet left the table to join some of the other group members leaving her with Louis and Marlon. The two idly chatted with one another while Clementine cleared her mind.

With not much else to think about it was the food that soon entered her mind once more. The food had been wonderful compared to the scraps and muck Clementine and AJ had been eating for the past few weeks. And while he stomach was satisfied with the meal it begged for more. But she would have to wait for now.

There was only so much to go around after all, and it would be rude to ask for more. She would just have to live with what she had been given. These people seemed nice but they couldn’t be that generous. Nobody is that kind to strangers. Her and AJ just left an extra two mouths to feed, something Clementine couldn’t help but feel incredibly guilty for.

Her attention was brought over to Louis who had turned his chair around, getting himself comfortable and pulling a deck of cards from within his coat pockets.

“Time for something… very important.” He spoke up, lifting the cards into the air and pointing to them as a red headed girl made her way past.

“Oh, god, goodnight.” The redhead scoffed, clearly uninterested in whatever antics Louis was up to this evening. Louis didn’t seem offended though, he just shrugged it off and turned to Violet. She was still a bit of a mystery to Clementine. With Marlon and Louis she could at least guess how they were. But Violet, she was an enigma.

Marlon was strong, capable, a leader. He looked like he had things figured out for the most part. Louis was more aloof, fun loving and kind. It was a breath of fresh air, and dangerous. Violet on the other hand she couldn’t figure out. One minute she was hitting and talking back at her friends, the next she’s trying to give Clementine privacy on her history. She’d have to figure her out later.

“Violet! It’s time!” Louis called out to the girl, shaking the cards in her direction. Violet seemed at least somewhat eager to re-join the group, getting up from her table and making her way over.

“What’s the game tonight, Lou?” Marlon asked his friend, grabbing the stack of bowls in front of Clementine and moving them to the side to make room. Louis had a small smile on his face as he replied.

“War. The oldest game around. A game played by man and beast alike. The only game there is.” Violet took her place beside Marlon while Louis explained himself. Clementine on the other hand just looked to Louis confused. She hadn’t played this game before, she had played a card game with Gabe a while back, but even that game she had forgotten the rules to.

“I don’t know the game. The only card game I’ve played had less people.” Clementine admitted. Louis gave her a reassuring smile as he started shuffling the cards.

“Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up as we go.” Louis assured her.

“It’s easy. Everyone gets a stack of cards, everyone flips one over. Highest card wins.” Violet explained to her. Clementine shrugged, it seemed simple enough, though it didn’t really sound like it required any skill, just luck. Regardless she was keen to play. Anything to ease the tension she felt being gathered with a group of strangers.

“And the winner gets to ask Clem a question.” Louis added, Clementine giving him a questioning look of her own. “What? I want to get to know you. We all do.” It seemed fair to Clementine, they did only just meet her. Though she did have a question of her own.

“And what if I win?” She asked.

“Then you get to ask us one. It’s only fair.” Louis replied, satisfying Clementine.

“Wait, what about AJ?” Clementine asked, turning to the small child. Though she was surprised to find he was not in sight.

“What about him?” Marlon asked, gesturing to an adjacent table. Clementine looked over her shoulder to see him talking with another kid. “Looks like he made a friend in Tenn. C’mon, you can take your eyes off him for one card game. I’ll bet you both could use a break from each other.” Marlon continued as Louis gave each member at the table a stack of cards. The stacks seemed surprisingly even for how quick he handed them out, he must’ve done this before.

“Yeah, maybe. It’s been a while since we’ve been around people our own age.” Clementine gave an almost sad smile at the thought. On one hand, she was happy AJ was maturing quickly, wizening up to the world around him. On the other, it was sad to know he wouldn’t have a childhood like she did. Regardless she turned her attention back to the table.

“Louis? If you would?” Marlon waved for Louis to begin. He did so, flipping over the five of diamonds. Clementine smiled, surely she could beat that.

She flipped over her own card, only to find she had a five of clubs. Well she guessed she wasn’t beating Louis at least. Looking around she saw that Marlon had drawn the three of spades whereas Violet had drawn king of hearts.

“Way to go me.” Violet congratulated herself with a smile. Though her smile left her face as she asked her question. “So about AJ… Where are AJ’s parents?” Violet glanced awkwardly around the table, almost as if she were silently asking if the question was already too big for a first ask. “You two don’t really look related, so…”

“They’re dead. They were nice people. For the most part.” Clementine admitted bluntly. There wasn’t much point in hiding the truth from them. What would they do with that information anyway. They were all strangers.

“It makes sense.” Louis spoke up. “He’s a nice kid.” Clementine almost laughed to herself as she replied to his statement.

“For the most part.” She repeated. While she would never admit it out loud, she did find AJ to be a handful at times, even rather stressful. But she wouldn’t trade him for anything. While Clementine looked over to Violet she noticed her eyes were drawn to Louis, who shook his head gently. She had guessed he was somewhat disappointed in her question.

As they all drew new cards Clementine was pleased to see a king of clubs. There was no way somebody would beat her this time. After looking to everybody else’s cards she had confirmed her thoughts.

“Hey, I win.” Clementine grinned, eager to ask a question of her own.

“Hey, you do. So what do you want to know?” Louis asked, leaning in closer to hear what she wanted to know. She almost couldn’t hold back a smile as she asked her question.

“What’s up with your haircut, Marlon?” She prodded, eager to hear the answer.

“Oh boy…” Louis grimaced as he looked over to see his friend’s reaction.

“Uh, what do you mean?” Marlon asked, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

“She means it looks like a dead cat. Probably smells like one, too.” Violet shot back, a smile on her face as she looked to Clementine. While Marlon was distracted staring angrily at Violet, Clementine gave her a nod to confirm that she did at least somewhat agree with Violets statement.

“Uh, I look cool.” Marlon replied coldly, turning his attention back to Clementine. Violet snorted and gave him an amused look.

“Whatever you say.” The blonde remarked. Marlon shot her a sidewards glare as he responded.

“I say I look cool…” Marlon ended the conversation there, clearly offended by her statement. The group all drew a new set of cards to ease the tension, Louis being the winner this time.

“Booyah.” He looked over to Clementine, though she noticed his smile faded as he uncrossed his arms from the chair, looking somewhat awkwardly away from her eyes. Clementine looked to the others for clarification.

“C’mon, spit it out.” Violet urged. Louis nodded, meeting Clementine’s gaze again.

“So, uh… ever, uh… ever have a boyfriend?” Louis asked of her sheepishly. Clementine gave him a surprised look when she heard a groan from Violets end of the table.

“Oh, my god.” She sighed heavily, slamming her fist into the table and looking away almost disgusted at the question.

“What? It happens. Perfectly valid question.” Louis shot back, a slight glare on his face. While she would agree it was a more awkward question to ask she supposed somebody like Louis would want to know that. He seemed like the kind of guy who never turned off his charm and thought of himself as a ladies man. Clementine decided to just answer the question and be done with it, no point beating around the bush.

“Never a boyfriend no, there was a boy at one point I was interested in and… maybe… no never mind.” Clementine waved it off, looking away from Louis as she twiddled her thumbs in her lap.

“What? Did uh… something happen?” Louis asked with a slight hint of regret in his voice.

“No! No, it’s not that. He’s fine, he’s somewhere else at the moment it’s just… there was this girl once…” Clementine began as a blush creeped up onto her face. She was about to say more before she was interrupted by Louis.

“Ooooh a girl huh?” He shifted his chair closer, keen to hear what she had to say. “I have somebody I’d like you to meet then.” Violet in turn groaned once more and waved him off.

“Leave her alone would you? Boys…” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Clementine tried her best to brush the exchange aside in her mind.

“Alright, alright. We’ll leave it at that.” Louis held up his hands defensively, reaching to flip over another card. This time it was Marlon who won with his impressive queen of clubs.

“Ha, I win. So, Clem… You can’t have been alone this entire time. Who used to take care of you?” Marlon asked. Clementine grimaced as she thought back to all the people who had been with her. All the people who she’d lost.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Clementine stared down at the table, lost in her own mind. She could feel a tear threaten to leave her but she forced it back, taking a long deep breath.

“Hm. Guess they meant a lot to you. I’m sorry.” Marlon apologised, deciding it would be better to let it go then to pry any further.

“It’s fine I just… I’ve lost so many people.” Clementine admitted, clenching her fists under the table.

“Haven’t we all?” Marlon grimaced, thinking back on his own people. Clementine smiled ever so slightly.

“I guess, though I’ve seen so many people go. So damn many…” She shook her head, trying to remove the thoughts from her mind. Best not to dwell on them. “Sorry, let’s just… draw another card.” She suggested. The others did so without another word. Clementine’s mood shifted slightly this time as she showed off the winning card.

“I win again.” She grinned as she placed her card back down onto the table.

“You do indeed. Ask away.” Louis urged. Clementine thought it over for a moment as she wondered what question to ask. It soon came to her.

“Okay, uh… What’s the grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?” Clementine was very interested to hear what each member had to say. Violet was the first to speak up.

“It’s pretty easy. Uh, horse eyeballs.” She seemed rather chill about the whole thing, Clementine wondering if there was more to that story at all. The mere thought of eating a horse’s eyeball made Clementine’s stomach flip.

“Slugs.” Marlon replied flatly, not giving any more information.

“Cantaloupe.” Was Louis’s response, one that surprised Clementine. She didn’t figure somebody would find actual food disgusting.

“C’mon.” Violet groaned.

“Dude, I fucking hate cantaloupe.” Came Louis’s reply. Clementine knew she could easily one up all of them. She had a smug grin as she spoke up.

“I ate a guy’s leg once.” She explained quite casually. Though the moment the words escaped her mouth she instantly regretted it. The faces of disgust on everybody’s faces showed they were obviously quite shocked to hear her statement. “I’m kidding.” She quickly added in an attempt to salvage the situation. A nervous chuckle followed soon after as it appeared nobody bought her lie.

“Are you?” Louis asked, giving her a serious look as he asked the question. Clementine dropped her fake smile and sighed. Might as well try to talk her way out of the hole she dug for herself.

“Look at least let me explain myself. I didn’t do it willingly or anything. We met these farmers early on, like only a few months after all this mess happened. They wanted to serve us dinner because we were really hungry, and we had fuel they needed. So, we traded. But one of our friends got shot by an arrow and one of the farmers took him in to patch him up.” Clementine paused her story, shuddering when she remembered the details.

“What we didn’t know is they cut his leg off and served the meat to us. I took one bite before we found out, but it was already too late.” Clementine wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself.

“Damn that, uh… that’s really fucked up.” Louis admitted, looking down at the table as he processed the information. Marlon was silent while Violet just seemed to be staring at her in bewilderment.

“What did it taste like?” Violet finally spoke up, earning shocked looks from everyone.

“Dude!” Louis exclaimed, giving her a look of ‘are you serious right now?’

“What? I might as well ask, right?” She shrugged, looking away from the group.

“When I found out it made me sick, I wanted to throw up. But uh… it wasn’t completely terrible.” Clementine caught herself quickly, holding out her hands in a defensive manner. “I wouldn’t ever do it again though, trust me, it was fucked up.”

“I believe you.” Louis told her, reaching for another card. When Violet flipped her card Clementine could see the queen of hearts in front of her.

“Victory Violet.” She grinned, looking up at Clementine. “Here’s something I love to ask when I’m in groups. Out of the four of us, who do you think’s gonna die first?” Louis gave her a look of surprise mixed with disgust.

“Whoa uh, hey I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus like that, I did only just meet you.” Clementine explained, not keen on angering anybody.

“Hey it’s fine, I just want to know what you think at first glance.” Violet shrugged, curious as to the answer. Clementine rubbed the back of her neck nervously, looking between the three of them.

“Well I mean, you all seem pretty capable. Violet, you look like you could probably kick my ass. Marlon you’re pretty tough too no doubt there. Louis… well… don’t get me wrong you’re great but uh you do seem a little…” Clementine paused, trying to think of the right word.

“Idiotic?” Marlon offered.

“Distracted?” Came Violets answer.

“Careless?” Was Louis’s own suggestion.

“Yeah, careless.” Clementine nodded. Louis chuckled and waved it off.

“It’s fine, I’ll admit I would think I’d die first too.” Everybody gave him a look of surprise as he shrugged. “What, I’m serious. You guys are easily way more capable then me.” He laughed. The group proceeded to flip new cards, Louis grinning at his obviously superior card.

“I am the greatest card player of all time.” Louis proclaimed proudly to himself.

“Just ask your damn question.” Violet growled, not up for hearing his self-praise. Louis went to speak up for a moment before stopping. He took a moment to think it over before continuing.

“Have you ever… no, never mind.” Louis shook his head.

“Just ask the question.” Clementine urged. Louis once again went to speak up before stopping himself. There looked to be some internal conflict underneath his eyes as he debated with himself whether or not to ask his question. After a short while he finally spoke up.

“You ever had to kill a person? Like, just a person.” He asked, still unsure of the question he was asking.

“If you mean people who’ve tried to hurt me then yes, I have. I’m not exactly proud of it, but we do what we have to if we want to survive.” Clementine admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

“See, was that so hard to ask?” Violet mocked, seemingly unimpressed by Louis’s question. Louis just remained silent and drew another card as he refused to meet anybody else’s eyes. Clementine looked around the table and saw Violet with a ten of diamonds, winning once more.

“I’m on a roll. So, earlier you asked the most fucked up thing we ate. What about the most fucked up thing you’ve done? Obviously excluding eating a dude’s leg.” Violet asked, crossing her arms before her and leaning forward slightly.

“Well, I’ve done quite a few disgusting and messed up stuff. But the worst is most definitely smearing myself with walker guts.” Clementine explained. This answer definitely raised a few eyebrows. “Oh, you probably don’t know. If you smell like the dead and walk real slow, they don’t notice you. It’s not guaranteed sometimes, but it helps to escape herds.”

“Wait you can just paint yourself in guts and just go invisible?” Louis asked for clarification.

“Well, not completely but yeah, kind of.” Clementine nodded. The group looked to one another in surprise.

“Learn something new every day.” Marlon noted, flipping over his next card. As they revealed their card it was Clementine’s turn to ask a question. She thought it over briefly before asking.

“You guys ever meet other people out here very often?” Clementine questioned the group, curious to learn how popular to this place is.

“Not really. There was a handful in the first few years, but after a while people just stopped showing up. You’re the first person in over a year at least.” Marlon told her, the other two card players nodding in agreement.

“If you ask me I prefer it this way, it’s much quieter.” Violet admitted as she went for another card. When they all did so Clementine was disappointed to find that Violet, yet again, pulled another winning card from her deck.

“Did you even fucking shuffle this thing Louis?” Violet chuckled to herself, getting ready with her question. “Yeah, ok then. Were you rebellious at all? Drink or smoke?” Violet asked her rather tame question considering what she’d asked so far.

“I did try a drink once, it was awful, I couldn’t keep it down. Haven’t touched that stuff since. This was a while back, when AJ was still a newborn.” Clementine remembered that moment vividly. The fire water rushing down her throat, causing her to go into a coughing fit. She swore off that stuff on that day.

“You’re not the only one, Louis here couldn’t even down a single swig, coughed and hacked for a minute straight.” Marlon chuckled, obviously amused at the memory.

“Hey, that stuff was horrid alright, you didn’t fare much better.” Louis shot back with a smile on his face. Marlon shook his head and grinned.

“No, I guess not. It did make for a fun Molotov afterwards though.” Marlon seemed to remember the moment fondly from what Clementine could tell.

“You guys nearly set a tree on fire. I wouldn’t exactly call that fun.” Violet reminded them. Clementine couldn’t help but giggle when she heard this.

“You did what?” She asked wanting to hear more to his story. Violet turned her attention to Clementine as she recited the tale.

“Ok so picture this. These two idiots a little buzzed from trying the stuff. They shove like a sock into the thing and try to light the sock on fire. Obviously, it doesn’t quite burn how they think it will, so they pull it out and flip it, using the soaked side to light.” Violet looked to the other two as she spoke, both clearly looking embarrassed.

“Vi please…” Louis began but Violet shushed him.

“So, the thing goes up in flames instantly and the two freak out. They throw the thing away like it’s going to explode and it lands right next to this tree. They ran so damn fast and just start stamping on this fire to put it out. I’m telling you it was both the stupidest and greatest thing to watch.” Violet grinned smugly at the two boys who now looked rather sheepish.

“You two are dorks.” Clementine rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Louis went an extra shade of red as she said this, rubbing the back of his neck.

“We had no idea what we were doing.” Louis admitted with a hint of amusement.

“You could say that again.” Marlon agreed, reaching out to grab another card. As they all did so Violet had by some miracle, pulled out another winning card. This time she gave a long hard stare at Louis.

“You rigged this didn’t you? You did this to put the spotlight on me huh?” Violet accused. Louis held up his hands in self-defence and laughed.

“No way Vi, I swear I did not rig the deck to make you win.” There was a pause as Violet went to ask her question before Louis spoke again. “I rigged it for me but accidentally handed it to you.” He finished.

“God damnit Louis.” Violet groaned, giving him the coldest stare she could muster up. Clementine found it all very amusing if she was honest. Watching the two bicker and argue without showing any real hatred, it was a nice change of pace to what she was used to seeing.

“Since Louis obviously cheated, we’ll just make this the last question before we pack up.” Marlon offered.

“No way, c’mon dude. Let us all just ask one more question, please?” Louis pleaded, clasping his hands together and looking upwards at his best friend. Marlon rolled his eyes and let out a hefty sigh, looking to Clementine for her input.

“I’m fine with a couple more questions.” She shrugged.

“Right so, me first since I drew the high card.” Violet paused momentarily to flick said card at Louis’s head as she thought up a good question to ask. “What is it like out there? How do you sleep knowing you could just get rudely awakened by some wandering fucker biting into your neck?”

Clementine was taken aback by the question, never really thinking about how none of the kids here would know what it was like out there. Had they never left this place?

“Well… it’s obviously rough, especially on the feet. Usually we try find some place to rest the night, but otherwise we sleep in shifts. Trust me, neither of us got much sleep like that.” Clementine shivered at the memories. There were one too many occasions a walker almost snuck up on them, chowing down on them as they slept.

“Just the two of you? How did you get any sleep?” Violet asked.

“We didn’t honestly. At least, not enough to feel rested.” Clementine admitted with a shrug. The group turned to Marlon, expecting him to ask the next question.

“You any good with a bow or a spear by any chance?” Marlon questioned. Clementine thought back on her time surviving, not remembering any particular moment she had to.

“No, not that I remember. It was always knives and guns. Why do you ask?” Marlon shrugged without giving a verbal response, making Clementine’s thoughts wander. She didn’t get long to do so as Louis finally spoke up.

“Alright my turn then. Hm… let’s finish this off with something easy. What was your first walker kill?” Louis kept it nice and simple, not wishing to bring up any bad memories. At least he hoped his question wouldn’t. He would seriously hate himself if her first walker kill was like her parents or something.

“I could be wrong seeing as it was so long ago, but I think it might have been in an old abandoned school. Somebody we were working with, Molly, got grabbed by a walker. My friend Lee tried to shoot it but they were moving around too much, so I shot it instead.” Clementine remembered that moment quite well, the whole Crawford trip was hard to forget.

“First time kill and it was saving somebody, I like it.” Marlon nodded, getting up from his seat and grabbing the bowls they had used for dinner. “Well if you don’t mind I need to get some sleep. It was fun getting to know you Clementine, I’ll talk with you tomorrow morning and we can see about whether or not you’ll stay.” Marlon explained, making his way back to his room. Clementine couldn’t help the smile the creeped its way onto her face.

“Oh, planning on staying here are you?” Violet asked, leaning forward in her chair. “Better hope Marlon likes you, or else you’re out on your ass. But let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” She smiled, getting up from her seat and retreating to her room for the night. As Clementine watched her leave she couldn’t help but be touched by her last comment. She also couldn’t help but notice that AJ was looking incredibly tired.

“AJ, why don’t you head off to bed, I’ll be with you in a minute.” Clementine called out to him. AJ gave a somewhat sleepy nod, saying good night to the other boy before hobbling to his room. The boy soon followed after, calling a good night to the remaining two as he left. Clementine turned back to Louis, a small smile on her face.

“So I never got to ask my own final question.” Clementine noted, crossing her arms on the table. Louis chuckled nervously and adjusted the collar of his shirt.

“And what kind of question would that be?” Louis asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

“Nothing huge, just wondering the real reason you asked about my relationship status?” Clementine teased, knowing she was getting under his skin a bit. He coughed to clear his throat, getting up from his chair in a hurry.

“That is an answer for another time. Good night Clementine. I’ve got a hole to dig so I may bury myself and never emerge, thank you.” Louis called as he left, leaving Clementine with a grin on her face knowing she had gotten to the usually calm and collected jokester. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad hanging around this place. Maybe, just maybe, things would be ok.


	2. Lifting Your Weight

“Wait, stop!” Clementine awoke with a start, her voice ringing out down the hallway. The nightmare very quickly faded from her mind before she could remember what it was even about. Still somewhat groggy from her interrupted nap, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and swung her legs over the side of her bed.

With a heavy sigh she reached for her socks, slipping them onto her feet and tying her boots on tight. She was awake now, no point going back to sleep. When she tried to stand she almost fell back over, grasping onto the bedframe to steady herself.

“Easy now Clem, been a while since you slept in a bed huh?” She said to herself, letting go of the bed and taking a few slow steps. Her body seemed to recover at least, allowing her to walk without risk of falling again.

Thinking back, Clementine couldn’t actually remember when she did sleep in a bed last, it was mostly just the ground or the car seats, which were far from comfortable.

The car… she really didn’t remember the crash still but she did remember how useful that car was. It was way better then walking and it could carry much more than she ever could.

“Hey Clementine, you in there?” A voice called, knocking against her door forcefully. From the sound of the voice Clementine had to guess it was somebody she hadn’t been introduced to the night before.

“Just a second!” She called back in response, stretching her muscles and glancing over at AJ who was now just waking up. She gave him a small nod and answered the door, finding a tall brown haired boy in the doorway. His clothing choice was rather simple and he looked a lot cleaner then most of the other members she had seen the night before.

“Ah good, you’re awake. Marlon wants to talk with you, says it’s pretty important.” He explained, stepping back to let her past.

“Thanks…”

“Name’s Mitch.” He told her before turning to leave.

“We’ll head to his office right now then. Come on AJ.” Clementine stepped out the door, AJ in tow just a step behind her.

She glanced back at Mitch as he just left her sight. She really needed to meet the rest of the group properly at some point. The trek to Marlon’s office was a short one, opening the door to find the boy AJ was with the other night.

“Hey Tenn.” AJ greeted, the young boy waving back in response. Clementine noted his name as she spoke next.

“Tenn? Where’s Marlon?” She asked, looking around the room as if Marlon were hiding from her.

“Oh, I’m not sure, I could find him for you.” Tenn offered, getting up from his place on the floor.

“Please, I really would like to talk with him.” Tenn nodded and left the room quickly to search for the older boy.

With only her and AJ in the room Clementine took a moment to survey the room. By now she had gathered that she was in some sort of school, and this room appeared to be an office. Likely a principal’s office from the looks of it.

The room contained a framed photo of a man that had been vandalised as well as a desk and chair tucked away in a corner. Opposite to the desk was what appeared to be a dog bed. Clementine decided to put a little distance from the bed for now as she heard a sound from outside the door.

“Marlon?” She called, taking a step towards the door. She was however forced to retreat when it was not Marlon but Rosie who stepped through the door. The dog saw her and immediately let out a low growl and stalked towards her. Clementine put the principal’s desk between her and the animal while AJ attempted to calm it down.

“Easy there, calm down Rosie. It’s me.” He held out his hands in front of him to show the dog he meant no harm. The dog noticed his actions and his scent, recognising him and sitting herself down in front of him. AJ gave the dog a pat on the head when Marlon entered the room.

“Hey AJ, I see you and Rosie are getting along.” He smiled. It wasn’t to last though as he noticed Clementine had moved to the corner opposite of the dog, her breathing erratic. “Hey uhm AJ, why don’t you take Rosie outside to play.”

“Aw, but Mitch said you had to speak to us.” AJ pouted, scratching the dog behind the ear. Marlon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I know, I know. But I need to talk to Clementine first if that’s ok.” He reasoned. AJ relented and called to Rosie to follow him as he left the room.

While Clementine didn’t wish to be separated from AJ, her fear of the dog was higher than her desire to stay by his side. When they had left Marlon shut the door behind him and turned his attention back to his panicked guest.

“She’s gone now, you can breathe easy.” Clementine’s eyes darted to him, then back to the door. Convinced the dog wasn’t going to barge back in anytime soon she finally got her nerves under control, removing herself from the corner she had shoved herself in.

“Sorry, I really wasn’t kidding when I said I had a problem with dogs.” Clementine admitted sheepishly. Marlon offered her a seat as he sat himself at the desk.

“Hey no worries, I saw that scar on your arm. I’m sure I’d be terrified too if a dog did that to me.” Marlon gave her a moment before continuing. “Anyway, I’ll do my best to give you some space from Rosie, but in the meantime there’s something really important to discuss.” Marlon set his hands on the table, pulling up a map of the surrounding area.

“The problem is we’re quite low on food, and with two extra mouths to feed I’m sure you can see the issue here.” Marlon noted. Clementine nodded in agreement, she knew how much of a burden she’d bring just by staying here.

“We’ll be out of your hair as soon as we can I promise.” Clementine explained. Marlon held up his hand to silence her.

“That might not be necessary. You see, if you can pull your weight, gather us some food then maybe you might not need to leave after all. Though that largely depends on how much you can help gather.” Marlon pointed to several points on the map.

“Here, here and here we set traps. Usually its to catch critters like rabbits, but sometimes we catch walkers as well, which helps keep the school safe. Over here we also have a stream in which we fish, but there’ve been less fish as of late.”

“So you want me to go out hunting for you?” Clementine asked. Marlon nodded in response.

“Something like that yeah. You won’t be alone out there. I have Mitch and Brody assigned to checking the traps while Violet and Louis are headed up to the stream to fish. Up to you where you want to head out to.” Marlon offered, sliding the map over to Clementine.

Surveying the map she noticed a large area surrounding the school that had a large ‘off-limits’ written across it. Included in that area was the station where she supposedly had her accident. Far off to the edge of the map was a massive ‘do not go here ever’ along the main rivers edge.

“Why can’t we head out further then this?” She asked, pointing to the off-limits area.

“Too dangerous, way too many walkers, especially after your little stunt. Anytime somebody has gone out there they’ve died. Louis and I are lucky that we didn’t join our friends in the grave for trying to save you.” Marlon explained, looking none to pleased about having crossed over the line.

“And this river? Wouldn’t it be safe to fish here?” She pointed down at the river in question.

“No can do. We’ve had far too many accidents involving walkers around that area. They seem to favour the running water, plenty of noise to keep them distracted I guess.” Marlon shrugged. “I won’t need to worry about you going out of bounds will I?”

“Shouldn’t need to. No point risking our lives over nothing. And don’t worry, I hate the water, I won’t go near that river.” Clementine shuddered, remembering how she had almost drowned the night she got separated from Christa.

Returning her attention to the map she looked to both the traps and the small stream. While it might be a good idea to check the traps with Brody and Mitch as a way to get to know them better, she felt she’d have a better time fishing with Violet and Louis. At least she somewhat knew them, and she’d always wanted to go fishing.

“I think I’ll head out with Louis and Violet if that’s alright with you.” Clementine announced, pointing her finger onto the stream on the map. Marlon gave her a nod and rolled up the map.

“Good choice, you can help Louis stay focused. Failing that at least you and Violet might be useful and catch something.” Marlon stood himself up from the chair, Clementine following suit. “Come on, they’ll be leaving soon. You’ll want to grab something to protect yourself out there.”

* * *

“C’mon slow pokes, we have to get there before the fish swim away!” Louis called out to the girls. Violet rolled her eyes and flipped him off, Louis shooting back a hurt look that was obviously forced.

Clementine had grabbed her knife for the trip while Marlon had ordered AJ stayed behind. Clementine had initially argued with Marlon, citing that AJ would be fine outside the limits of the walls. He knew how to defend himself. Marlon continued to argue against her, saying that her needed to remain behind.

Neither Clementine nor AJ liked the idea of splitting up but Clementine had decided it was best to stay on the groups good side and relented. She hated the very idea of doing it, wanting to turn around and sneak him out if she had to.

Marlon assured her no harm would come to him and explained there was merely some things he needed to go over with regarding AJ. Apparently AJ had been less then friendly while Clementine was unconscious.

Marlon explained rules and discipline would need to be addressed before he was allowed outside. Though Clem suspected that was not the entire case. Surely AJ would’ve learnt the rules in the days Clementine had been unconscious. Whatever the reason she had hoped AJ would be safe, and also stay on his best behaviour.

“Hey he’s going to be alright, don’t worry.” Violet offered, almost reading Clementine’s mind. This did little to ease her worries.

“Thanks, I’ve just never left him behind before, not in quite a long time.” She admitted. Violet gave her a warm smile and turned her attention back to the path ahead of them.

“You can trust Marlon to keep him safe, he’s kept us pretty safe so far after all.” Violet shrugged, shoving her hands into her pockets.

“So what do we fish with? Do you have lines?” Clementine asked curiously. She’d never fished before.

“Nah nothing like that. We just poke them with spears and put them in a bucket. Hope you don’t mind getting fish slime on you.” Violet smirked already imagining Clementine’s squeamish face as she had to touch the fish.

“Please, I’ve dealt with worse then fish.” She reminded the other girl.

“Right, walker guts.” Violet remembered. She spat at the side of the path and turned her attention back to Clementine. “Think you can stab a fish though?”

“I think I’ll manage. Though I’m not sure how my hand will hold up.” Clementine rubbed her sore wrist as she spoke. While it had gotten better it still had a dull throb to it.

“You’ll be fine. If it gets bad just call one of us over, at the very least you can keep lookout.” Violet offered. Clementine smiled warmly at her.

“Thanks, really. I don’t know why I seemed to get the idea you didn’t like me.” Clementine admitted. Violet turned a shade of red and sputtered.

“Wh-what gave you that idea?” Violet averted eye contact, staring dead ahead at Louis’s back.

“I don’t know. I just… got the wrong idea I guess.” Clem shrugged, feeling bad for saying it to Violet.

“I… look I don’t hate you or anything. I guess I was just a little mad when Marlon first brought you back. You made a lot of noise and brought in a lot more walkers then usual. So when our hunting team came back we… almost lost somebody.” Violet let out a heavy sigh and shrugged. “It’s whatever though, weren’t your fault from the sounds of it.”

“Honestly I still don’t remember anything after the explosion. I’ll need to ask AJ at some point.” Clementine watched as Violet almost straightened up as a thought struck her.

“Shit uhm, did Marlon warn you about anything before you came out here?” Violet asked.

“Other than a safe zone no. Should he have?” Clementine didn’t recall Marlon specifically warning of her anything else.

“We uh… while you were out of it Aasim and Louis found some of the traps had been messed with. We couldn’t find who’d done it but we have a thief out here. Just, keep a lookout for anything that’s not a walker.” Violet warned her.

“Anything I should know about our mystery thief?” Clementine probed curiously.

“Just don’t bring them up with Brody, she’s been real stressed about it these last couple days. She and Marlon got into a big fight the other night before you woke up. I guess she just feels threatened and doesn’t think Marlon’s doing enough to keep us safe.” Violet shrugged, removing her hands from her pockets and returning her gaze to the front.

“Ladies, we have arrived.” Louis called out, turning to face the two as he stretched his arms outwards to show the shack before them. It didn’t look like much, but Clementine figured that was kind of the point. The crappier the look, the less likely it is to be looted.

“Spears are inside. Just fetch a pair for us would you?” Violet asked, dropping a key into Clementine’s hand. “Louis, go check the traps for us. See if we caught any fish.”

“Your wish is my command.” Louis bowed, following her instructions and heading upstream to where they had left the traps. Clementine decided to head indoors and fetch the spears Violet mentioned. Something was off though, Clementine could feel it.

“Hey Violet? There’s no lock on this door.” Clementine noted, not finding a keyhole for the key she’d been handed.

“What do you mean?” Violet called back, coming up to stand beside Clementine. She crouched down and picked up something from the floor, muttering quietly to herself. She showed the object to Clementine, a busted metal lock.

“Our mystery thief?” Clementine offered an explanation.

“No doubt, let’s go check if they took anything.” Violet opened the door and stepped inside, Clementine following after.

The shack was a mess, and Clementine doubted it was normally like this. A table was on its side and items littered the floors, shelves empty. She also couldn’t spot any of the spears Violet had mentioned either.

“Fuck, fuck fuck!” Violet cursed, kicking something across the floor with a grunt. “They took the spears. Maybe…” She paused briefly and removed a wooden board from the floor, taking out a pair of spears from underneath. “Not all of them asshole…”

“Why are those ones under the floor?” Clementine asked, trying to spot anything that would make the spears stand out. Violet froze briefly before handing one off to Clementine.

“Doesn’t matter. Just take it.” She replied coldly, removing herself from the building. Clementine observed the spear in her hands, finding an M carved into it. Glancing up she found a carving on the far wall. An M and a V surrounded by a heart.

Clementine frowned as she connected the dots. V must have stood for Violet, but what about the M? It couldn’t have been Marlon could it? Mitch maybe? Doubtful. A question for another time, for now she had a job to do.

Stepping back outside she found Violet standing over the stream, spear at the ready. She was almost completely still, waiting for her prey to pass by beneath her. As Clementine approached her she didn’t even flinch.

Looking down into the water brought up a small moment of fear within Clementine, but she pushed the thoughts aside. This was a stream, a slow flowing and calm stream. There was no way she could drown in this if she even tried.

“Hey.” Violet finally let out. Clementine set herself up opposite to Violet, mimicking her stance.

“Hey.” Clementine replied a little awkwardly. After a moment of silence Violet let out a heavy sigh.

“Sorry, just some bad memories.” There was another brief moment of silence before Violet shut her eyes and began to speak again.

“We had these twins at the school, Minerva and Sophie. They were Tenn’s sisters. The spear you hold? Minnie carved that one herself.” Violet nodded to the spear in Clementine’s hands. Violet then suddenly thrust her spear downwards, pulling back with a fish on the end. She pulled up a bucket and let the fish off in there.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to cause any bad memories.” Clementine apologised. Violet scoffed and readied her spear again.

“It’s fine, really. I shouldn’t be so hung up on it. They’ve been gone a year, time to let go.” Violet frowned, her grip on the spear tightening. However it was Clem who caught the next fish, skewering it with surprising accuracy.

“Huh, got one.” Clementine sounded just as amazed as Violet looked.

“So you did.” Violet smiled.

There was a minute of silence as the two caught a couple more fish, letting them fill the bucket they had brought with them. It was during that time that Clementine caught onto the fact that Minerva started with an M. The same letter that was in that heart inside.

“Uhm Violet? You and Minerva, were you close?” She asked somewhat hesitantly. Violet froze at her question, eyeing her carefully.

“Why do you ask?” Violet spoke slowly, no longer paying attention as a fish swam past her.

“I just… saw the carving inside.” Clementine admitted with a shrug, jabbing at the fish that Violet missed. The action caused Violet to blink in surprise but she soon recovered.

“Oh right… that. I kind of forgot about it honestly. Yeah we were… we were close once.” Violet got quiet, her stance faltering slightly.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.” Clementine lowered her own spear, neither girls noticing another fish swim on by.

“No, no. Don’t be. It’s not your fault, you’re just curious.” Violet paused, a smile making it’s way to her face. “Like how curious Louis was about your boy history.” Clementine let out a groan and returned her attention to the water.

“Oh god that was awkward. Does he like me or something?” Clementine asked. Violet let out a loud but short laugh.

“Oh definitely. Dude’s crushing hard. Not that I blame him.” Violet speared a fish, dropping it into the bucket.

“What do you mean not that you blame him?” Clementine raised an eyebrow, expecting Violet to respond. Instead she froze, refusing to make eye contact. Both girls attention was brought away from the water as a voice called out towards them.

“I have returned!” Louis decreed, holding his arms out and grinning from ear to ear.

“God damnit Louis, do you want the whole forest to hear you?” Violet hissed, lowering her spear and picking up the bucket of fish. “Did you at least get anything from the traps?” Louis’s smile dropped quickly, his face turning serious.

“Hate to break it to you but it seems our thief got there first.” Louis explained, gesturing to the fact he wasn’t carrying anything on him.

“Fuck, yeah I figured. Bastard got into the shack and trashed the place too. Only had these spears left.” Violet cursed, grabbing the second spear from Clementine and handing her the bucket. “Hold this, I’ll be back in a minute, going to hide the spears again.”

Clementine nodded as she watched Violet return to the shack, turning her attention to Louis once she was out of sight. Louis was smiling as usual, but there was something else to that smile.

“What?” Clem asked.

“Oh, just wondering what you talked about while I was gone.” Louis replied casually, tugging at the edges of his jacket.

“Girl stuff, mostly about other girls I guess.” Clementine grinned, noticing the smile falter from Louis slightly. “Girls are pretty after all aren’t they?” She further teased.

“Oh uh, sure yeah uhm… most of them yeah.” Louis coughed, turning himself away to hide the embarrassment on his face. Clementine had to admit, while he seemed so calm and collected all the time, it seemed rather easy to mess with him when you knew which buttons to push.

* * *

The trip back from fishing was a quiet one, for many reasons. All three were on edge after finding that their mystery thief had shown up yet again, ransacking the shack. But for Violet and Clementine they had other thoughts on their minds.

Clementine was worried she’d messed up with Violet back there, that she’d pried too much into her personal history. Violet may have said it was fine but Clementine didn’t feel fine. She felt like an ass.

Violet on the other hand was thinking back to the twins, the ones they lost. Shit she hadn’t thought about them in such a long time, why did they have to come up now of all times? The silence was finally broken when Louis heard Brody yell something into the woods.

“Did any of you catch that?” Louis asked, straining his ears to listen. Violet and Clementine looked to one another and shrugged. They didn’t hear anything. After a moment there was another cry. This time all three caught it.

“You think they’re in trouble?” Violet put forth what was on everybody’s mind, but none dared to say. Now in a slight panic they all picked up their pace in the direction they heard her voice. They were forced to slow down however when Violet placed her hand out in front of the other two.

“There, see him?” Violet whispered. Following her gaze Clementine found a stranger holding Brody at gunpoint, Mitch under his boot with another gun trained on him. He may have been alone but he seemed more then capable at handling their two hunters.

“Must have caught Mitch by surprise, he doesn’t go down easy.” Louis muttered, crouching down into the brush so he’d remain hidden. Violet and Clem followed his lead, crawling their way closer at a snails pace. Eventually they got within earshot.

“Come on, you know the deal. Marlon said two, so you can’t weasel your way out of this one.” The man sneered, adjusting his grip on the gun trained at Brody. Violet gave a shocked look to her two companions, noticing they too seemed equally surprised at the mention of Marlon’s name.

“L-leave me alone! I wasn’t a part of his stupid deal!” Brody shot back, taking a half step back. The man shot the ground near her feet, returning the gun to her. The trio continued their advance but began to split up in an attempt to surround the man.

“Ah, stay there girlie. Can’t have you running off now.” He grinned, stepping off Mitch in turn. “Get up you, we’re going.” He gestured for Mitch to stand with his gun, keeping both pointed at the kids.

“Bite me asshole.” Mitch hissed, giving him the meanest glare he could muster. The man sighed and kicked him in the ribs, grinding his teeth together.

“I said move!” He shouted, prompting Mitch to slowly rise to his feet. By now Clementine was close enough that she could probably get the jump on him, but with those guns in his hands he didn’t want him to fire a shot in panic at the other two.

She didn’t get the chance to plan it out however as Louis exposed himself, walking out from his hiding place with little regard for his safety.

“Now come on man, that’s no way to treat somebody.” Louis put on a brave face as the man whipped himself around to aim a gun from Brody over to him. Brody hesitantly took a few small steps back now that the man’s attention was elsewhere.

“Who the hell are you?” The man narrowed his eyes at the newcomer.

“Name’s Louis, and I heard you talking about my good friend Marlon for a moment there. What’s this all about?” Clementine realised what he was doing. He was distracting him.

She noticed Violet had crept in really close to the man, her cleaver out and ready to pounce. Clementine took her own knife out and looked in Violets direction, managing to catch her gaze. Violet held up her hand, slowly pulling down her fingers. It was a timer.

“Look, this business with Marlon is none of your concern kid.” The stranger went to speak further until Violet rushed out from behind the trees and striking her cleaver downwards at his arm. The man had barely enough time to react as he managed to block the blow with his gun, the item falling from his hand in the process.

Clementine had also sprung from her hiding place but she was further from the man then Violet had been. The stranger heard her approach and took a shot at her, missing her by an inch as she tackled him to the ground. Her wrist screamed in protest but she tried her best to ignore it. Her actions had spurred both Mitch and Louis into action as they too made a run towards him.

The stranger however was a lot stronger then he looked. He threw Clementine off of him with surprising force, her body colliding with Mitch’s legs and sending the pair into a heap on the ground. Violet made another swing at him but he grabbed her arm. Twisting it around he shoved her into Louis knocking them over too.

“Bloody kids, this ain’t over!” The man spat, running off into the trees before any of them could properly recover. When they were on their feet he was already disappearing into the trees. There was no way of catching him now.

“Shit, that was probably our only shot at capturing him.” Violet cursed, throwing her cleaver into the dirt in anger. Louis dusted himself off and helped Mitch and Clementine to their feet.

“I’m more concerned with the fact he knew Marlon.” Louis frowned, clearly none too pleased at what his best friend might be involved with.

“Don’t forget, Brody seemed to know him.” Mitch put forth, pointing to the redhead in question, who was currently cowering behind a tree. Violet marched over and grabbed her by the collar, ripping her out from her place with a grunt.

“What the fuck was that about Brody?!” Violet demanded, grabbing onto her with both hands and snarling in her face.

“I-I-I…” Brody couldn’t find her words when Violet shoved her to the ground, hands clenched into fists.

“Clementine, keep her from running. Drag her back to the school. We have some questions for her.” Violet growled, heading back to where she had left the bucket of fish. Mitch crouched down to grab a few rabbits he’d caught while handing the bow over to Louis to carry.

Clementine let out a frustrated sigh and followed Violets instructions, picking Brody up from the ground and grabbing one of the guns the man had dropped in his scuffle. She pointed it at Brody’s back and poked her with it.

“Come on, don’t try anything funny.” Clementine ordered. Brody was shaking like a leaf but followed her orders nonetheless. She did however whisper something back to Clementine that she didn’t quite catch. “What was that?”

“I… I said… It was Marlon’s idea.” She whimpered, head hung down in shame. The revelation shocked Clementine slightly, but she worried more how the others would take it. Moreover how Violet would take it. She would have to be having a very stern talking to Marlon when they got back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oopsie, I guess I gave Clementine a bit more trauma then she had previously. Oh well, hope it doesn't affect her too negatively.


	3. Chapter 3

On the way back the group had discussed their plan of action. Mitch and Louis would gather the rest of the kids and inform them of what they had just learnt while Violet and Clementine would bring Marlon and Brody to the office for questioning.

Brody had told the group that Marlon was the one who traded the twins, Minerva and Sophie, to the bandits in return for safety. The bandits agreed but told him they’d be back for more later. Brody had only learnt about the whole ordeal from Marlon later, and was sworn to secrecy.

Violet had been furious at Brody but by now her anger was fully directed at Marlon. She kept cursing him on the return trip, Louis trying in vain to calm her down and defend his best friend. His words were ignored.

None of them looked particularly thrilled about the return home. Clementine was in almost full panic mode, worrying for AJ’s safety. Brody had tried to reason that she didn’t want to be a part of what Marlon did but the group weren’t up for listening to her anymore. For now they just wanted to get back home.

“They’re back!” Aasim called from the watchtower, hopping down to open the gates and let them in. Clementine had put her gun away for the time being, keeping it hidden from sight.

Violet stormed through the gates and slammed the bucket down onto a nearby bench not far from where Omar was sitting. Omar jumped in surprise, a look of concern plastered on his face.

“Did the thief return?” He asked sceptically. Violet huffed and ignored his question, eyeing the courtyard for any sign of Marlon. As she did she made a beeline right for him, but not before Clementine stopped her.

“Hold on, we can’t let him know we’re onto him just yet, he might run for it out here. We need him where he can’t escape.” Clementine reasoned, grabbing a hold of Violets shoulder. She gave Clem a glare but relented, shoving her hand from her shoulder and crossing her arms.

Marlon took notice of the two and jogged over, worry and concern written all over his face.

“Clementine! Thank god you’re back, I can’t find AJ, he’s been gone since you left. He didn’t sneak out with you did he?” Clementine immediately felt the colour drain from her face. No… he didn’t manage to give up AJ to them already did he?

“AJ?!” Clementine cried out in panic, running to the middle of the courtyard. “AJ where are you?” Violet was ready to punch Marlon and make him talk right now but she kept herself in check for now. Soon…

“I’m here Clem!” AJ called back, rushing out from one of the main buildings of the school. Clementine immediately embraced him in a hug.

“Where were you buddy? Marlon couldn’t find you.” While she was glad Marlon hadn’t managed to find him she was curious as to where he went. AJ dropped his voice to a whisper as he explained it to Clementine.

“Brody told me to hide from Marlon, said it was for my safety. I didn’t get it, but I did what she said.” AJ explained. Clementine gave him a quick nod and turned her attention to Marlon.

“Go speak with Louis real quick AJ, I need to talk with Marlon.” She got up and approached him, keeping her emotions under control. “We have a situation, we need to speak in your office, privately.”

“Why? What’s up?” Marlon asked, furrowing his brow in concern.

“Office first.” Violet snapped, pushing past him and making her way upstairs. Clementine sighed and nodded, gesturing to Brody to follow them. Marlon looked between the three in worry but followed them regardless.

Violet tried not to slam the door open when she entered the office, Rosie peaking up at her with interest. Violet ushered her out the door and Clementine gave the dog a wide berth as she left the room. Once the four were in the room Marlon sat behind his desk as Brody took a seat across from him, head hung low.

“What’s this all about? Brody what’s the matter?” Marlon was immediately interrupted by Violet slamming her cleaver into the edge of the desk, snarling at him.

“You’re done now, we found your little raider friend, and Brody here spilled the beans. We know what really happened to Sophie and Minnie.” Violet spat, pulling the weapon free from the wood.

“Wh… what?” Marlon’s voice was barely above a whisper as he looked between the three girls in front of him, shrinking back into his seat.

“It’s true… I’m sorry.” Brody placed her head in her hands and began to cry, the guilt proving too much to bear at that moment.

“You… you told them? Why Brody?!” Marlon shouted at her. The redhead flinched back in fear and held up her hands.

“Because I couldn’t do it anymore, what you did was horrible and… and I don’t want to be a part of it!” She defended herself.

Marlon growled low and deep and grabbed at a nearby lamp, intending to hit Brody with it. Violet and Clementine were quicker to the punch however. Marlon felt the cleaver embed itself into one of his sleeves and pinned his arm to the table as he heard the gun from Clementine click its safety off.

“Don’t.” Clementine warned, pointing the gun directly at him. Marlon flinched, not expecting the gun from her and placed the lamp back down slowly. Clementine moved to Brody’s side and removed her from the chair, leading her a few steps away from Marlon in a protective manner.

“So asshole, why’d you do it? And why did you rope Brody into it huh?” Violet sneered, holding her grip on the cleaver to prevent him from pulling his arm free.

“I… you don’t understand! I did it to protect you guys! They wanted to take all of us, but I made a deal.” Marlon tried to defend himself but he was interrupted by Violet striking him with the back of her hand.

“Protecting us?! You gave away Sophie and Minnie you asshole.” Her face slowly twisted from rage into shock, before turning back to blind hatred. “I was meant to be out there with Sophie but Minnie took over! You bastard, you were going to give me up!” Violet struck him again, blood leaking from the boys nose.

“Violet stop!” Clementine called out, reaching out towards her friend. Violet hesitated as she went to strike him again but she relented, pulling back for the moment.

“You sick fuck, you made us all think they were dead.” She snarled, pulling her weapon free and pointing it at Marlon. “What do you have to say to defend yourself huh?”

“I gave them away to save us! It was to protect you! I’d do it again if I had to!” Marlon shot back, but his arguments died in his throat when he noticed to the door to his office was open, the rest of the school kids gathered to hear his last outburst.

“You… you gave away my sisters?” Tenn was barely holding back his tears when Marlon let loose his defence. It wasn’t much of a defence however as the rest of the children began to glare at him in mixture of anger, betrayal and disgust.

“They… they would’ve taken all of us…” Marlon spoke out weakly, shrinking back into his seat even further. Violet let out a furious cry and slammed her weapon into the wall.

“You spineless bastard, I’ll kill you!” Violet went to strike at Marlon again until Clementine grabbed her arms, pulling her back and away from the source of her anger.

“Violet please, calm down! Hurting him won’t bring them back!” Clementine tried to reason. But Violet wouldn’t listen. She kept kicking and screaming to be let go, shouting every profanity she could think of at the former leader. Marlon just took it all, not even bothering to defend himself this time.

Eventually Louis came to her side and with his help they brought Violet out of the office and into the hall outside. They finally let her go and shut the door behind them, barring her from entry. Violet seethed at the two and clenched her fists.

“Let me in.” She demanded, taking a step towards the door. Louis blocked her path, holding his hands out to her.

“Whoa easy there Violet, think about what you’re saying. Don’t do something you’ll regret.” Louis reasoned, placing his hands on Violet’s shoulders. She glared up at him and shoved his hands from her, storming off down the stairs. “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but fucking here!” Violet shot back, stomping down the steps as hard as she could, slamming the door to the exit of the building as hard as she could upon leaving. Louis sighed and turned to Clementine.

“That uh… went well.” Louis attempted a smile but Clementine shook her head.

“No, not now Louis, please. Let’s just… get back inside.” Clementine opened the door to the office and stepped inside to the discussion that was currently happening. From the look on Marlon’s face he clearly did not enjoy what was about to happen.

“I say we kick him out, let his ‘friends’ pick him up.” Mitch growled, shooting a glare at his former friend while he crossed his arms.

“Whoa whoa hang on, what’s this about?” Louis demanded, stepping around to get between the group and Marlon.

“We’re having a vote, either we kick him out or we lock him up.” Mitch shot back, turning to the group. “Aasim Omar and I want him gone, but Tenn and Ruby here think he should be locked up.”

“What if he just brings the raiders back here? They don’t know where we are yet.” Brody tried to speak up but Mitch shot her down.

“Shut up Brody, you don’t get a vote in this.” Mitch snarled. It was Clementine’s turn to step between Mitch and the source of his anger.

“Mitch, please, calm down. Fighting amongst ourselves won’t solve anything.” Clementine reasoned, making sure to cover Brody with her own body in case Mitch got angrier.

“Whatever. She doesn’t get a say. Louis I know he’s your friend but think about it, the bastard gave up Sophie and Minnie. Fuck he was going to give up Violet, your best friend. You can’t still believe there’s good in him still.” Mitch took a step towards Louis but he shook his head.

“No… this isn’t right. We can’t kick him out, he’s our friend.” Louis pleaded, looking to each member of the group.

“I don’t want him giving me away to some bad men in the night. I say he goes.” AJ speaks up at last, casting his own vote.

“I agree, get him out of here!” Willy approves, stomping his foot.

“AJ! You don’t mean that.” Clementine stood shocked at his words. “I say we lock him up, for now at least. We can kick him out later if you want but until we know more about these raiders we can’t risk him leading them back.” Clementine tried to sway the group but they all looked firm in their decision.

“That’s five to three, Clementine your vote.” Mitch ordered. Clementine shook her head defiantly and stood her ground.

“He stays, at least for now. And Brody’s vote counts. I don’t care what you say she wasn’t a part of it. So five to five.” She shot back at Mitch. He gave her a glare as a smug grin made its way onto his face.

“Then I guess we just have to get Violet to break the tie then huh?” Mitch approached the balcony and opened the doors, looking out over the courtyard and spotting Violet by the graveyard. “Hey Violet, we’re having a vote! Lock up Marlon or kick him out?”

There is a long silence as the group cluster outside to hear Violets response. Clementine opted to stay inside, keeping an eye on a very uneasy looking Marlon. Though what she hears next makes her heart sink.

“Get that fucker out of our school!”

* * *

The group was gathered at the school gates to see Marlon off. Many were mad, a few heartbroken, all felt betrayed in some way or another. Marlon was escorted to the gate by Mitch and Willy, a spear in hand as a way to deter Marlon from bolting. Not that it would do much, whether he ran in panic or let them kick him out he was gone either way.

“Guys come on, you can’t do this, I’ll die out there!” Marlon pleaded, looking to the faces of each group member. Most turned away from him, but a few lingered, sorry for what they were about to do.

“Sorry Marlon, you should have thought about that before you gave up the twins.” Mitch shoved him forward, Marlon hitting the ground just outside the school gates. Mitch slammed them shut, taking a step back as Marlon got to his feet.

“Louis, come on man you can’t let them do this.” Marlon begged for his friends help. Louis didn’t meet his eyes, not wanting him to see the tears that leaked from them.

“I’m sorry man… I tried… I-I…” Louis turns away, walking back towards the main building. Clementine shoots him a sorrowful look as he does.

“At least give me something to defend myself with.” Marlon reasons. Most of the group turn their backs on him, leaving him to his fate. Only Tenn, Mitch and Clementine remain. “Tenn please…” Marlon holds out his hands desperately. Tenn shuts his eyes and lets out a long slow sigh.

“You gave away my sisters…” Was all he had to say as he too turned his back on his former friend. Marlon gripped at the bars of the gate only to have them batted at by Mitch’s spear.

“No… please you can’t do this!” Marlon cries out, but Mitch points the spear in his direction.

“If you don’t start walking right now, you won’t be able to soon.” He threatens, adjusting his grip on the spear to show he’s serious. Marlon sends one last look to Clementine before he relents, turning around and walking out into the woods.

“He won’t live long out there you know.” Clementine told Mitch very matter-of-factly.

“At this point, I can’t muster up a reason to care what happens.” Mitch turned away and made his way indoors as everyone else had. Clementine shook her head and followed after him.

She stopped however when she caught Violet in the corner of her eye, still in the graveyard. Turning in her direction she found her kneeling in front of one of their makeshift crosses poking out from the dirt. Clementine approached her cautiously and sat herself beside her.

Violet looked at her and quickly rubbed her eyes, red and swollen from crying. She cleared her throat and turned herself back to the cross in the ground.

“Hey Clem… you probably hate me right now huh?” Violet mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. Clementine placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“I don’t hate you. I don’t agree with your actions but… I don’t hate you.” Clementine told her. Violet sighed and gave Clementine a small smile.

“Thanks I guess. Fuck this whole thing is so messed up.” Violet, leaned back and placed her hands behind her to keep her balance. “Just a year ago I was told my girlfriend was dead. Now? She’s probably out there somewhere, and I don’t even know if she’s alive and well or… or…”

“Hey, it’s ok. If those raiders are still out there we’ll find them, get them talking, find out where they have her. We’re not just going to let them get away with this alright?” Clementine gave her shoulder another squeeze.

“Yeah… yeah you’re right.” Violet rubbed her sleeve along her face to clean it up, standing up straight and looking down at the twins graves. “Guess we might need to remove these later then.” Violet said hopefully, helping Clem up from the ground.

“Let’s hope so.” Clementine agreed, following Violet as she made her way back inside.

“Hey uhm Clem? Thanks again for… well just for talking to me. I… needed that.” Violet stopped and stood silent for a moment, reaching forward slowly and gave Clementine the most awkward hug of her life.

Clementine was surprised to receive the hug, slowly returning it and patting Violet on the back. After a few seconds like that Violet separated, a blush forming on her face.

“Sorry uh… I don’t know what came over me.” Violet rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling softly to herself.

“Hey it’s fine, sometimes you need a hug.” Clementine smiled, to which Violet smiled back. “Come on, lets go find Louis, make sure he’s ok now.”

It was at the door to his room they both hesitated. Neither wanted to disturb him. They knew he wasn’t taking it well, having his friend kicked out from the school like that. Especially considering it was Violet who cast the deciding vote.

Every fibre in her body told her it was the right choice, but her heart was the one that told her it wasn’t. She hated seeing Louis upset, and she just ruined his day, hell maybe even his life. She couldn’t bear it, couldn’t stand to see his smile falter.

“I can’t… I just…” Without another word Violet ran off down the halls, away from her best friend. Clementine hesitated, wanting to chase her down but deep down she knew she needed some space. They all did, but right now Louis needed somebody.

Taking a deep breath in she knocked gently on the door, hearing no response at first. Thinking she’d been too quiet she knocked again harder, this time hearing the ruffling of movement from within. Slowly the door opened up revealing a very sad, and very tired Louis.

“What…” He droned, clearly not in the mood for conversation. Clementine could see his eyes were slightly red and his cheeks were stained with tear streaks.

“I… look I just needed to see if you were going to be alright.” Louis opened his mouth to speak but Clementine held up her hands. “I know you’re not going to be alright. But… I need to know if you’re going to recover or if I’m going to need to help you along.”

“Clem… I’ll be ok. I get it, Marlon gave away Minnie and Sophie, she had every right to react the way she did.” Clementine quickly noticed he was addressing Violet in particular. “Hell who knows, I might be the same if it were somebody else who traded Marlon away. I don’t blame her I just…” He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“You need some time?” Clementine finished for him. Louis gave a slow nod in response, crossing his arms before him.

“I guess it’s not the worst thing to happen. He could’ve been killed I guess. But… fuck it’s really messed up right now.” Louis let out another heavy sigh and placed his hand on the door. “Look I just need some time. I’ll see you at dinner, I promise.” And with that he shut the door.

Now that she had spoken to Louis she couldn’t leave Violet out in the cold. She had to let her know Louis wasn’t mad at her.

Clementine checked for Violet in her room but found no trace of her there. She checked at the graveyard only to find it vacant as well. Asking around yielded no results until she found Tenn.

“Tenn, any idea where Violet would be?” She asked the younger boy.

“Oh uh… did you check the bell tower?” Tenn pointed up at the large structure across from them. Clementine smiled and thanked the boy as she jogged over to see if Tenn had been correct. She did not however expect the need to climb.

The stairs had long since fallen away, a crumbled heap on the ground, crushed beneath the heavy bell. Looking up she saw there were at least plenty of footholds and places to climb up. So with a slight pep talk to herself, she began to climb.

Once or twice she got a little wobbly. She never was a big fan of heights after all. Add that to her list of fears. She did however make it to the top eventually, catching her breath when she had. Looking from side to side she quickly located Violet, legs dangling over the side, head in her hands.

“Vi?” Clementine called out to her friend cautiously. The girl jumped slightly in surprise, but otherwise her posture didn’t change. Taking it as an invitation she sat herself down next to her, only to be enveloped in the second hug of the day.

“He hates me doesn’t he?” Violet croaked, her voice sounding on the verge of tears. Clementine wrapped an arm around her friends shoulder and shushed her.

“No no, he doesn’t hate you. In fact he gets why you did it.” Clementine began.

“I don’t get why. I kicked his best friend in the world out on the curb, out to die.” Violet sniffled, her body shaking with silent sobs.

“You did what you thought was right.” Clementine attempted to calm her down but this had the opposite effect.

“No, I wasn’t thinking right. I just wanted him gone for… for what he did to Minnie. For Sophie… he hurt us so bad and I… I wanted to kill him. I was so close I…” Violet broke down into tears, gripping tightly to Clem as if she was the only thing holding her together. Clementine didn’t object to her actions, letting her friend cry it out.

Today had been rough, but Clementine knew tomorrow wouldn’t get any better.


	4. The Whisperer

Dinner was quiet that night. Nobody spoke, nobody laughed, barely anybody ate their full meals. Everyone was too focused on the events of the day. The thief holding three of their own at gunpoint. The revelation Marlon had traded away the twins for ‘safety’ as he claimed it. The vote that lead to his exile.

Clementine mixed her spoon around the soup in front of her. She couldn’t bring herself to eat it, not right now. Instead she played with her food, spinning it around, making shapes out of it.

AJ, who sat beside her however, didn’t feel what everybody else was feeling. He was glad to have Marlon gone, he finished his meal and wanted more. Clementine didn’t hesitate to slide her the food she hadn’t eaten.

The boy gave her a look of concern but she gave him a smile, stating she wasn’t very hungry. This was a lie of course, she was starving but she just couldn’t stomach a meal right now. She realised this was probably a stupid thing to do seeing as she had barely eaten these last few days. But she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Mitch, Willy and Aasim were the first to excuse themselves, leaving the table they were at and heading indoors. Tenn and Ruby followed shortly afterwards, saying their goodnights. It was only Clementine, AJ and Brody at one table with Louis and Omar at another. Clementine hadn’t seen Violet since the tower and she assumed she was still up there.

Her attention was grabbed when she heard Omar snort. Glancing over Louis was whispering something to him, a smile finally making its way onto Omar’s face. Clementine hadn’t seen Omar smile since she woke up. To be fair she’d hardly even spoken to him.

“Hey buddy, I’m going to go sit with Louis and Omar, you can join if you want.” Clementine whispered to AJ.

“No thanks, I’m going to hang out with Brody if that’s ok.” AJ smiled, earning a surprised look from Brody. Clementine gave them both a smile and made her way over to the two boys who seemed to both be chuckling softly to themselves.

“What’s going on over here?” Clementine asked, seating herself next to Louis and across from Omar.

“Oh nothing much, just telling Omar about the pinata I found out in the woods.” Louis grinned.

“It wasn’t a pinata, it was a walker that had been caught in a trap.” Omar corrected him. Louis waved him off with a grin.

“It was basically a pinata, except instead of candy it was guts.” Louis shrugged.

“Ew, that’s disgusting.” Clementine giggled. Omar slid a bowl of soup in her direction while she was distracted.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you not eating. You need food in you.” He explained.

“You expect me to eat after hearing what he just said?” Clementine jerked her thumb at Louis, poking him in the arm.

“I’ll have you know his soup tastes nothing like walker.” Louis defends Omar. “In fact anything Omar makes is delicious.”

“I just cook, I don’t do anything special to it.” Omar replies, trying to hide the pride he feels from Louis’s words.

“Oh please, it’s world class. My parents got me some of the craziest meals whenever we went out for dinner, and none of it was as good as what you cook up.” Louis praised his friend. Wanting to see for herself Clementine took a slow spoonful into her mouth. Louis was right about one thing, it was really good.

“Wow…” Was all Clementine could manage as she dug in, spoonful after spoonful shoved into her mouth greedily.

“That’s what expert cooking does to somebody who’s been on the road all their life.” Louis motions to Clementine, who tries to collect herself and eat more calmly.

“Please, you’re just doing this to make me feel better.” Omar tried again, and failed, to hide his pride.

“No really, Louis is right, it’s really good.” Clementine admitted between mouthfuls.

“See! World class cooking. Without this apocalypse I’d say you’d be the best chef in the country, easily.” Louis pats his friend on the shoulder from across the table.

Clementine was glad to see Louis had managed bounce back to his old self so soon, but she felt inside he was hurting bad. She figured he just didn’t wish to show it and would let it out when outside of present company.

“So, who’s going to lead us now?” Omar put forth. Louis placed a finger to his chin in thought and slapped Clementine on the back, almost forcing her to spit out the food in her mouth.

“I say old Clementine here could do a pretty good job. You heard how she handled things in there.” Louis nodded his head up at the main office building that overlooked the courtyard.

“Me? You’ve got to be joking, I’ve been here only a few days.” Clementine almost cried out in disbelief.

“Who else? Omar, Mitch and I sure aren’t leader material. Willy and Tenn are far too young. Ruby cares more for keeping us patched up and well then giving orders. I doubt many want Brody in power right now if I’m honest. Violet…” Louis paused, his smile vanishing from his face. “Look I don’t think Violet’s in a good spot to lead us right now. Maybe when she’s recovered, but you can stand in until then.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m not the leader type.” Clementine reasoned, but Louis was having none of it.

“Not the leader type? Clem you ooze charisma, maybe even more then me. And when you talk everybody listens. I don’t see why not.” Louis explained to her. Deciding that arguing with him was pointless she quickly finished her meal and pushed it aside.

“Then as leader, I order you to take things a little seriously over the next couple of days.” Clementine put on a tough guy voice as she pointed accusingly at Louis.

“But I’m always serious.” Louis placed a hand over his chest in a mock hurt expression. “But why? What’s so special about the next couple of days?”

“We don’t know if that thief was alone, it certainly didn’t seem like it. Trading away the twins for one guy? Doesn’t add up. There’s probably more out there somewhere. So we have to be ready in case they come back.” Clementine explained.

“And how, oh great leader, do you propose that?” Omar asked.

“Well we have plenty of scrap material lying around. Wood mostly. If we empty out the greenhouse I’m sure there’s more in there we can use.” Louis thought up.

“Good idea, if we can get some sort of razor wire for the walls, that would prevent anybody climbing over. A few barricades would be nice.” Clementine looked down at the table and knocked against it. “Hell I’m sure if the need arises we could clip these tables over for cover.”

“Geez, you sound like you’ve done this before huh?” Louis laughed.

“Oh I’ve been in a siege once or twice. Nasty stuff. I’ve had to deal with my fair share of raiders, hostile communities and whatever else this apocalypse has tried to throw at me.” Clementine admitted.

“A tough leader indeed. Good choice Louis.” Said Omar, getting up from his chair. “Anyway I’m going to call it a night, see you two in the morning.”

“Night Omar.” Louis called back. Clementine felt a tug on her sleeve and turned to find AJ by her side.

“I’m tired now, can we go to bed?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes to emphasize the point.

“Sure thing bud, let me just say goodnight to…”

“Night Clem!” Louis called, getting up from his seat in a hurry and rushing indoors.

“Uhm… night?” Clementine called back confused. She got up from her seat and got halfway to the front door when Brody called for her.

“Clem, do you think… maybe… I could sleep with you two tonight?” She was clearly embarrassed asking the question.

“Sure, but may I ask why?” Clementine requested. Brody turned a slight shade of red and got up from her seat to follow the two.

“I just… don’t feel entirely safe sleeping alone if I’m honest.” Brody admitted. Clementine frowned at knowing Brody felt this way. She needed some company right now. So without another word Clementine escorted her troubled friend to the room.

When they had arrived in the room AJ immediately collapsed onto the bed, ready for sleep. Clementine got to taking off her boots as Brody climbed onto the bunk above Clem.

“Goodnight Brody, we’ll keep you safe.” AJ called out, already falling asleep at his own words.

“Oh… goodnight.” Brody mumbled back, curling herself into a ball on the bed. Clementine glanced up at her and saw how terrified she looked. Letting out a sigh she stood to face her.

“Do you uhm… need me to stay up or…?” Clementine asked hesitantly.

“No no I just…” Brody paused, trying to find the right words. “Usually when I’m scared I’d sleep with somebody else but uh…” Her face went red before she could finish and she covered her face. “Sorry.”

“You can’t sleep alone in the bed?” Clementine finished for her. Brody nodded her head slowly and removed herself from the ball she’d wrapped herself up in. Normally Clementine would object to such an act, only letting AJ sleep in the same bed as her. But seeing how terrified Brody had looked and knowing what she must be going through softened Clementine’s heart.

“Alright, but if I wake up in your arms that’s the last time I let it happen.” Clementine joked.

“Oh uhm don’t worry, that won’t happen.” Brody smiled, hopping down from the top bunk and sliding in next to Clementine.

“Goodnight Brody.” Clementine closed her eyes, shuffling over to give Brody extra room.

“Goodnight Clem.” Brody mumbled back, letting sleep slowly embrace her.

* * *

A stirring beside her is what woke Clementine earlier then usual in the morning. Sitting herself up slowly she felt a presence beside her, glancing over to see Brody’s sleeping form resting soundly by her side. A smile made its way onto Clementine’s face as she eased herself over Brody and off the bed.

Slipping on her boots she gave AJ a quick kiss on the forehead before exiting the room as quietly as possible. She took one breath in and immediately almost hacked out the stale dusty air. She needed fresh air.

Outside the in the courtyard she took in a long slow breath, letting it out with a smile. Though the smile faded when she remembered what had occurred just the previous day. Kicking Marlon out… not the best morning to follow afterwards.

Thinking back she also hadn’t seen Violet at dinner, nor did she remember seeing her anytime before or after. Curious and worried for her wellbeing, she made her way to the bell tower she had been in the day before.

Once more she climbed, feeling just as uneasy the second time round as she did the first. A loose stone almost fell beneath her foot but stood its ground for now. After letting her heart settle she finally reached the top, relieved to have made it up alive.

And sure enough there Violet was, sleeping soundly against the cold hard ground of the bell tower. How she managed to get any sleep was beyond Clementine at this point. While normally Clem would feel rude for waking her early, she felt that sleeping up here out in the cold couldn’t have been good for her.

“Violet. Time to get up.” Clementine called out softly to the sleeping beauty. Grumbling and swiping in her direction, Violet mumbled out a curse.

“Two more minutes.” Violet rolled over to face away from Clementine, earning a smile from her.

“Come on, you’ve been up here all night, you need to come down eventually.” Clementine kneeled down and shook her shoulder, prompting Violet to finally sit up.

“Shit was I? I didn’t even notice.” Violet rubbed the sleep from her eyes and leant herself against a part of the wall that hadn’t collapsed completely. “Sorry I missed dinner, I kinda got lost in my own mind I guess.” She shrugged.

“No problem, just promise me next time you’ll sleep in a bed alright?” Clementine smiled.

“Sure, my back is more then eager to keep to that promise.” Violet groaned, stretching out to get the stiffness out of her bones. “I didn’t miss anything important did I?”

“Other than Louis and Omar electing me leader, as well as Brody staying the night in my room not much.” Clementine shrugged it off like it was nothing. If Violet was not awake before she certainly was now.

“Wait a minute, back up. I’m going to need you to explain both of these to me.” Violet cocked a curious brow at Clementine, who merely chuckled back in response.

“After breakfast. Come on stiff bones.” Clementine called after her as she made her descent.

“Stiff bo… hey!” Violet called back, climbing down to have a word with Clementine about her choice in nicknames.

* * *

“You really elected her as leader?” Violet asked Omar in disbelief.

“You weren’t exactly around for input so who else was I to choose? Willy?” Omar shrugged in response.

“You two are going to cause a community wide collapse.” Violet sighed, grabbing her bowl and holding it close to her as she ate. Clementine smiled at the two, glad that they were at least talking. After yesterday Clementine was worried Violet would shut herself in and not speak to anybody.

“Hey, it was mostly Louis’s idea.” Omar nudged Violets shoulder, earning a growl from the blonde.

“Then I formally assign him to Clementine to deal with.” Violet nodded in the girls direction, getting back to her meal.

“Me? Vi you can’t throw me under the bus like that.” Clementine argued. Omar felt a grin sneak its way onto his face as the two spoke.

“Does he mean that little to both of you?” Omar teased. Though after a moment he wished he hadn’t. “Violet I didn’t mean…”

“Whatever.” Violet just frowned, taking another mouthful of her food.

“Speaking of little things… we’re getting quite low on food. We need to find something, and yesterday.” Omar addressed the table. Clementine reached for her back pocket and pulled out the map Marlon had shown her the day after she woke up.

“Well what do you suggest? There isn’t exactly a lot to go with here as you can see.” Clementine pointed to the vast expanse of woodland surrounding them. During this time Louis had made his way to the table, Violet shrinking back a little and avoiding eye contact.

“What’s the discussion of the day?” Louis interjected, leaning down to look at the map.

“We’re running out of food, and places to get it.” Clementine explained, gesturing to the map before them.

“Ah on the contrary. Here!” Louis put his finger directly over the train station that Clementine had her crash. “Didn’t you say that place was loaded with food?”

“Yeah except she said it blew up.” Violet shoved his hand off the map, instead pointing to an area that was previously off limits. Louis frowned but otherwise did not make mention of her action. “Just move our hunting to out here, there’s bound to be plenty roaming around without our intervention.”

“I don’t think that’ll be enough Violet.” Louis countered. Sensing some unease brewing Clementine decided now was a good time to speak up.

“Look, let’s just step back a moment. Louis is right, there was food at the train station. And while yes Violet is also right in the fact it blew up, I don’t think it would have gotten all of it.” Clementine explained to the duo.

“What makes you say that then?” Violet asked.

“You didn’t see what I did, there was a lot in there. Like a lot. Something was bound to survive.” Clementine explained in turn.

“Wouldn’t that place be swarming with walkers from all the noise we made?” Louis countered, making an explosion sound with his mouth.

“Maybe… but it’s been a few days, most must have wandered off by now. We could at least give it a look.” Clementine began to fold the map back up, returning it to her back pocket.

“Fine, you and Louis can check it out. I’m going to take Aasim and set new traps out where I suggested. Either way we’re going to have a new source of food.” Violet packed up her bowl and made her way to Aasim to explain what she needed of him.

“Guess we’re going on a field trip huh?” Louis grinned. Clementine shook her head with a smile of her own.

“If this is your idea of a field trip I don’t want to go on any more in the future.”

* * *

“You sure it was wise to bring the kid along?” Louis whispered to Clementine, jerking his thumb in the direction of AJ. Clementine gave him a sour sideways look in response. “I’m just saying, it’s not exactly safe out here.”

“Yeah, because I’m going to leave him behind again. No way, he stays with me.” Clementine countered.

“Alright, he’s your kid. I won’t lie though, I’m a bit more worried about Brody.” Louis admitted.

“Why’s that?”

“She’s been left with pretty much everyone who was mad at her, barring Ruby and Tenn. You and AJ are like the only ones she’s really hung around with since the whole… mess.” Louis slowed a moment as he thought back to the day prior.

“Shit, I didn’t think of that.” Clementine cursed herself for being so blind to the situation she’d left Brody in.

“Hey, it’ll be fine. Ruby will probably knock anybody on their ass if they so much as look at Brody wrong. Ruby’s a protective one.”

“That she is.” Clementine agreed, smile on her face. Their conversation came to an end when the train station slowly came into view, hardly a walker in sight. Ducking down behind some shrubbery the trio surveyed the area.

“There were way more last time we were here.” AJ noted, checking behind them to make sure none were lingering in the woods.

“Agreed. But there’s no way they all cleared out by now naturally. Something must’ve lured them away.” Louis pointed out, counting only two walkers in sight.

“Let’s just deal with them and… what the…” Clementine narrowed her eyes to get a better look as she saw a walker bend down slowly to pick up a rock. It then tossed it, sending the other walker after it.

“Did… anybody else just see that?” Louis asked for clarification.

“Walkers don’t do that, they’re too dumb.” AJ frowned. Not once had he seen something like that.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s our everyday walker. Let’s check it out.” Clementine began to sneak her way forward, using the train and other debris as cover to stay out of sight as the rock throwing walker shambled its way to the main building. When it approached the door it opened it slowly, shuffling inside and shutting it behind them.

“Walkers don’t use doors right?” Louis whispered to his partners. Clementine shook her head slowly and snuck her way up the stairs, stopping at the door to draw her knife. She looked back to see AJ with a knife of his own and Louis with his chair leg.

She didn’t remember giving AJ a knife recently, she’d have to ask him about that one later. Right now though they had a strange walker to deal with.

Opening the door as slowly and quietly as she could she found the first room empty, the walker couple she’d left alive were no longer present. She couldn’t quite remember if they had gotten free in the explosion or if something else had set them free.

Dismissing it for the moment she made her way deeper in, figuring their mystery walker had entered the room where the food had been stored. She took a few deep breaths to slow her racing heart as she opened the door suddenly, knife at the ready.

The walker they had been following whipped around to face them, dropping the hatch to the food shut in shock. To the trios surprise however it also raised its hands in surrender.

“What kind of walker are you?” Clementine asked what was on everyone’s mind. The walker looked between the three and slowly reached up to the back of its head. Clementine tightened her grip on her knife, ready in case it made a move.

“I mean you no harm.” They spoke at last, though at a low whisper. They pulled the skin away to reveal the face of a teenage boy. Clementine almost dropped her knife at the reveal but caught herself last second.

“You’re not a walker?” Louis asked. The boy looked to him with a faint smile.

“No, I’m not.” He whispered back.

“Why are you talking so quietly?” AJ tilted his head, confused and curious to who this new person was.

“It’s… force of habit. You have to stay quiet when you walk amongst them.” The boy explained, the answer just bringing far too many questions to mind.

“Wait, walk amongst them? You mean the walkers?” Clementine was next to ask.

“Yes, the mask hides me from their scent, so I must stay quiet.” The boy replied. Louis stepped forward, pointing his finger at the boy.

“Ok I have a few questions for you. Who are you? What’s your name? Are you friends with any bandits?” The boy looked surprised at first, but his face slowly twisted into an angry one.

“I am James, I’m a survivor like everybody else, and I do not work for the Delta.”


End file.
